It seemed as if a significant number of senior citizens and physically challenged persons did not utilise the Election Commission’s offer of voting from home. In several villages and towns, a large number of senior citizens and physically challenged persons came to the booths to vote.
Physically challenged citizen Maruti Siddapa Karigar exercise his right in Belagavi city. The unemployed youth who suffers from multiple disabilities said he had come in the hope that the government would implement some welfare measures for the physically challenged. He also appealed to fellow citizens to vote for better governance. Mr. Karigar had not registered for voting from home, though he knew about the ECI offer.
In Hukkeri, Ramanna Gunjeti who lost his leg while working in a saw mill, said that he did not know about polling from home. He was carried to the booth by his relatives. He used the wheelchair kept in the school premises to reach the booth and the polling corner. The police and polling officers helped him.
Shamachar Managundi, a senior citizen said that he did not know about the provision. The SVEEP committee that creates awareness about universal polling, should have publicised this, he said. He had not registered as an absentee voter with the local polling officers.
Election duty officers said that Belagavi had 89% polling from absentee voters. Of the 10,233 absentee voters registered in the district, 9,084 had voted from home. The highest percentage of absentee voters was in Belagavi, a senior polling officer said. The district electoral office, however, does not have a count of how many eligible voters exist in the district and what percentage of them had registered with the officers.
ECI changed its conduct of election rules 27A, to allow absentee voters to vote from home. They included senior citizens, essential service voters, physically challenged persons and COVID-19 suspected cases. A team of five polling personnel, including a photographer and videographer were to visit the homes of such absentee voters registered with the district electoral office. While essential service voters were allowed to opt for postal ballots, others could vote from home.
